Knitting machine



E. U. AMES- KNlTTlNG MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 8. 1915.

1,340,695. Patented May 18,1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

E. U. AMES, KNITTING MACHINE.

APPLICMIGN man NGV. 8, 1915 Patented May 18, 1920.

. S. Patent, Serial No.

UNITED STATES PATENT ormon.

ELIE! Ur LIES, OI PHILADELPHIA, YENNSYLVANIA, ASBIGNOR TO K. BBINTON'comm, OI PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENN- BYLVANIA.

KNITTING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 18, 1920.

Application filed November 8, 1915. aerial No. 80,300.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, Emma U. Amns a citizen of the United States,residing in Philadelphla, Pennsylvania, have invented a certainKnitting-Machine,-(being a continuation in part of m a plication for U.11 filed'Febrnaliy 9, 1915), of which the following is a spec s cation.

One object of this invention is to provide relatively simple,substantial and accessible mechanism -for controlling the operation ofthe yarn guidin fingers of a circular knitting machine, t e inventioncontemplating S1161 an arrangement of artans w1ll..permit the raising ofthe late ringto an inoperative position and its lowering to an operativeposition without changing the operative connection between the yarnguiding fingers carried by said ring'and the cams whereby their actionis controlled.

A further object of the invention is to provide novel means formaintaining constant'or invariable the an In at which yarn is fed to'theneedles regar less of the movement of the cam ring to vary the length ofthe stitches, the various parts being arranged so that the cam and latchrings are mechanically connected and caused to move with the am guidesin such manner as to iccomplish this end.

It is also desired that the mechanism operatiirely connecting theyarn-serving fingers or guides with their controlling cams shall be soarranged as to permit of the latch ring adjustment without interferingwith the proper operation of the machine.

These objects and other advantageous endsv I secure as hereinafter setforth, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which,

igures l and 2 are respectlvely a side olevation and lan of a circularknitting machine embo ying m invention;

Fig. 3 is avertical section on the line a,-a, Fi .2; V a

Fig. 4 is an elevation partly in section illustrating certain of theparts of the me.-

chine in positions difierent" from those illustrated in Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary elevation showing one of the features of myinvention; and Fig. 6 is an elevation partly in 'pn illustrating thereinforcing yarn 'de'with the t eseveral positions occupied underconditions of use of the machine to which my invention is ap lied.

n the above drawin s, 1 is a frame supporting a needle cylin er 2 which,during the operation of the machine, alternately receives a rotary andan oscillatory movemerit and is of any suitabie construction, havingrooves 3 forthe rece" tion of needles 4. T e lower end of said cy inderfits within a ring 5 having set screws 6 laced to enter recesses 7 inthe lower en of said cylinder so that this latter Ina be removed bybacking ofi' said screws. bred to the lower portion of the ring 9 is aear 8 throu h which power is applied for riving the cy inder.

Y The frame lvis provided with a vertically extending guideway 28 inwhich is slidably mounted a post 27 formed as part of the cam ring 63and having a flange 29 formed to constitute a pocket for one end of acoiled spring 30 whose opposite end ongages said frame so as to becapable of moving the post u ward after it has been depressed. The owerend of the post 27 is connected through a link 31 and a rod 31 to an arm32 of a bell crank lever 33, which at 36, on a main cam drum 37, inorder to periodically lower the post 27 and with it the cam ring 63during the knitting of certain ortions of a stocking.

A atch ring 38 is pivotally mounted on a pin 39 carried by a forkedstructure 27 mounted so as to be vertically ad'ustable as well asadjustable in a horizonta plane on post 27,- there being a set screw 27wherehyit ma be retained in an given position. Said atch' ring normaloccupies a position'directly over the nee e cylinder so that the needleswhen moved upwardly will pass within it and is adjusted by means of ascrew 40 which extends through a lug 41 thereon and has its inner end incontact with said forked structure 27, so that said latch ring cannotmove down below a horizontal lane.

late ring has a radial extension 43 in which is formed an openin 38serving as a ideway for arn-gui e actuating jacks which are sli abletoward and from thineedles. in order to hold these jacks in place whilepermitting their linntedlongitudinal movement I provide two pins &6 and17 which extend through the walls of said tension across the opening 38and iass through slots -14 and 45 in said jacks. arn guide lingers 48",48",,48 and 48 are ivotally mounted on a shaft 4.9 supported in theextension of the latch ring and each has an actuating arm 50 fittingwithin a. notch fit in a enacting one of the jacks 42, so that a slidingmovement of one of the latter will raise or lower its particular yarnguide within the :iatch ring 38 in order to withdraw yarn from or serveit to the needles.

For the purpose of actuatinq the jacks I provide a number of hell cranrlevers 52, 52", 52" and 52, movably mounted on a shaft 53 carried in anextension 54 of the frame 1. Each of these levers has an arm providedwith an adjusting screw 56 whose lower end is placed to en age a flatbutler spring 57 also projecting rom said arm, and the main druni 37 hascams 5 placed to engage. these springs at definite tion of the machine,so as to move the levers into the position occupied by the lever 52 inFi 3. In addition to the above I also provide a yarn guide 48 pivotallymounted on. a bracket carried by the latch ring'extension position tofeede reinforcing yarn to the needles, the others of the yarn guidesbeing actuated by cams on the "Mill terndrum to insert the yarnsrequired in knitting a stocking. For example, the guide 4 may be used tosupply the yarn for the body of the foot of the stockir q, while thefingers 48", 48" and 48 may be employed to feed threads of difl'erentkinds, si cs or colors as desired.

Each jack 42 at the lower part of its rear end has a projection 42placed below the pivotal support 39 of the latch ring and is forcedtoward its actuating lever by a spring 59; oneend of each spring beingattached to a pin 60 on the extension diiwhile its other end is attachedto a pin 61 on the jack.

When. the latch ring 38 is in its horizontal position and the lever 52has been moved to engage and slide the jack 4% into its extreme forwardposition, the yarn guide 48" is thrown up out of action. If on the otherhand the cam 58 on the, pattern drum 37 is moved from -under the lever52, the spring 59 will move said jack 42 rearwardly and permit the yarnguide to move down into a position in which it can feed yarn to theneedles.

The above jack-actuating levers 52 etc., are so shaped and mounted thatwhen they are moved by the earns 58 to their highest positions, theirjack engaging surfaces are substantially vertical, thus permittingvertical movement of the post 27 without aftimes during the opera-.

'l'cctin" the position of the yarn guides. in the other hand, when thecams 58 move from under the lovers 52, etc., and allow them to drop totheir lowest positions, their jill'lv' engaging surfaces will. occupypositions clear of the jacks 42 as shown in the case (in the lever 51Fig. 4. lly the above dc srribed arrangeim-nt of jacks and jackopcrating levers the latch ring 38 may be freely moved into and out ofits operative position without interference from any of the associatedmechanism, since when it is lowered, those jacks -12 which lpnl, movedtheir yarn guides up before the latlgh rin; was raised, will engage thevertical surfaces of their respective actuating levers and will be againmoved on the extension 48, thereby again moving said fingers intoinoperative )ositions.

ln'Fi 4 have shown the latch ring in its partl y raised position, withthe projecting end of one of the jacks 42 in engage ment with theactuating face of the lever '52, so that a. downward movcn'wnt of saidring will cause said jack to be moved in wardly, thereby raisinp theyarn-guide linger -18 out of action. If the latch ring he moved upwardlyfrom the position shown iirFig. 4, the s ring 59 will move the jack 42outwardly, t ins drawing the yarn finger within the opening of theextension of the latch ,ring.

The reinforcing yarn guide 4.8 tends to move into the lower positionindicated in dotted lines in Fig. 6 under the action of a spring {134mounted within a cylindrical casing 135, in which osition it will feedyarn to the needles. aid guide 48 may be moved into an inoperative orraised position by means of a jack 42 slidahly mounted like the jacks 42and actuated by a fiver 52, which may be shifted as described inconnection with the levers 5 to 52 inclusive. Said jack 42 may be movedby a spring 59 away from the yarn guide 48 to permit the spring 1 34't0lower it Hill) operative position. or controlling this move.- ment ofthe parts I provide a cam 52 on the P n drum 37 which acts on an arm fthe lever 52 to move the jack 42" into engagement with the yarn guide 48and swing it up and wholly out of action as re aired in order to allowthe ion butt need es to pass it when they are in 15 mir highestpositions, as during the knitting of the heel and toe.

The lever 52 is connected b y a link 136 to one arm of a lever 138pivoted to a dependinglug 139 on the frame 1. The other arm of saidleveris provided with an antifri'ction roller 141 which, when the lever 52 isdjsengafiei from the cam 52 0a the-drum i 37 ma enga; ed b a cam 142 onthe bottom 0 the need e 037 the yarn guide t8-out' ef. action during theder, in order to raise- V mg reinforcin sition relatively to theneedles,

length of this cam be "lowing the jack knitting of the unreinforced partof the stocking. If it is desired that the mechanism shall knit astocking with its sole portion reinforced, the length of this cam 142,is such as to be inversely proportional to the number of needles towhich it is desired to feed the reinforcing yarn; it being obvious thatat a definite point in the rotation of the needle cylinder, said camwill actuate the lever 138 in such manner as to move the reinforcingyarn guide 48 upwardly awa from the needles, and prevent it from feeyarn to those needles which, for exam le, nitthe upper or instep portionof the foot.

On the other hand, as the cam 142 passes out of enga ement with theroller 141, the lever 138 wi I be moved by the jack 42" under the actionof the sprin 59 transmitted through the lever 52 an link 136, and theyarn guide will be moved into its lower or o eratlve position in whichit feeds the rein orcing yarn to the needles for knitting the sole partof the foot. The cam 142 and the spring 134 will thus act during eachrevolution of the needle 0 linder to move the yarn guide 48 out of aninto operative poit being understood that if said cam has an angularlength of 180 degrees, the reinforcing yarn guide 48 will remain inoperative position to feed reinforcing yarn to one-half the needles inthe cylin er and will then be moved into an inoperative position inwhich it withholds the reinforcing yarn from the remainder of theneedles. Obviously if the increased, it results 1n a decrease in thenumber of needles to which reinforcing yarn is fed and vice versa. Iftherefore during the knitting of the foot portion of a stocking, thereinforcing yarn guide is alternately moved into and out of operativeposition at such times that 'reinforcing yarn is fed to but one-half ofthe needles in the needle cylinder, one-half of the knitted web will'bereinforced as is desired in the sole portion of the foot.

The movement of the pattern drum 37 is such that when the foot portionof the stocking is to be knitted, the cam 52' rection of the arrow X,Fig. 1, thereby al- 42 to move outwardly. The action frees the yarnguide 48 so that its movement into and out of operative posi' tion maybe affected by the cam 142. By the rotation of the needle cylinderduring the-knitting of the foot portion of a stocking, the roller 141 ismoved down by the earn 142, causing the yarn guide 48 to be moved out ofoperative position for a certain time during each revolution, though notfor such a distance as that caused by the cam 52' on the drum 37. In anycase however the outwill pass 7 out of engagement with the lever 52,which Wlll be moved by the spring 59 in'the diward movements of saidyarn uide 48 are sufiicient to prevent it from fee ing yarn to theneedles.

In order to knit the reinforced sole of the stocking, the cam 52' is soplaced upon the pattern drum 37 that when the machine starts to knitsaid portion, it will move frpm under the arm of the lever 52, thusmoving the yarn guide 48 into a position to serve the reinforcing yarn;it being noted that for each revoluti n of the needle cylinder 2 the cam142 will move the lever 138and thereby cause a movement of said guideinto and out of its yarn feeding position While I have described acertain definite construction of yarn uide for feeding the reinforcingyarn, it will be understood that other forms, such as the main yarngu1des illustrated, may be employed to serve such reinforcing yarn, andthe main yarn may served from any one of the guides 48,etc.

It is particularly to be noted that as shown in Fig 5, by rigidlyconnecting the cam ring and the yarn changer comprised by the latch ring38 and its associated parts, the angle of delivery of the yarnrelatively to the needle wave remains constant irrespective of thechanges in the position of said cam ring incident to the knitting of astocking. That is to say, there can be no variation of the angle atwhich yarn is fed when the cam ring moves up or down to lengthen orshorten the stitches, connection between said ring and yarn changer, thelatch ring with the yarn directing members will moveup or same time andto the same extent. This angle may be adjusted however by moving theforked structure 27" up or down on the post 27.

Under operating conditions the yarn passes from the yarn guides to thecorner of the throat plate 65 and from thence to the point at which itis engaged by the needles. Ordinarily when the cam ring is lowered tocause lengthening of the stitches, the needles move down bodily so thatthe line of the yarn between said throat plate and thepoint at whichsaid yarn is engaged by the needles approaches the adjacent line oftravel of the needles, increasing the likelihood of the yarn passingabove rather than into thc'hooks of the needles. On the other hand whenthe cam ring is raised, the movement of the above mentioned line of theyarn away from the line of travel of the needles frequently pinchedbetween the latch and the Wall of each needle as said latch closes. Byconnecting the yarn changing device with the cam ring as previouslydescribed, the angle of yarn delivery remains constant regardless of theposition of said ring.

claim 1. The combination in a knitting machine since owing to the rigidown at the causes the yarn to be of a needle support; needles therein; alatch ring; a jack; a finger fc" feeding yarn to the needles actuated bysaid jack; and a lever normally disconnected from the jack having anactuating surface perpendicular to the line of movement of the jack foractuating the same. the jack, the finger and the lever all being movablein me same plane.

2. The combination in a knitting machine of a needle support; needlestherein: a latch ring; a pivotal support for said latch ring; a fingerfor feeding yarn to the needles: a jack slidable on the latch ring formoving said yarn finger and having a portion below the axis of saidpivotal support: means for moving said jack in one direction to movesaid finger into one position; and a structure movable into contact withthat part of said jack below the pivotal support for moving the jack inanother direction to move said finger into a second position.

3. The combination in a knitting machine ot' a needle support; needlestherein; a latch ring; a pivotal support for said latch ring;

a finger for feeding yarn to the needles; a jack slidnble on the latchring to move said yarn finger and having a portion below the pivot ofsaid latch ring; means for sliding said jack in one direction to movesaid finger into one position; a lever having a surface movable intoengagement with said lower portion of the jack to slide it in anotherdirection to move said finger into a second position said lever surfacebeing substantially vertical when in engagement with the jack.

4. The combination in a knitting machine of a cylinder: a latch ring; apivotal support for said latch ring; a yarn feeding finger; a jack formoving said yarn finger;

means for sliding said jack in one direction to move said finger intoone position ;.a lever having a surface movable into engagement withsaid jack to slide the latter in another direction to move said fingerinto a second position, said lever surface being substantially verticalwhen in engagement with the jack; and means r'or automatically movingsaid pivotal support to vary the distance between the latch ring and thecylinder.

5. The combination in a knitting machine of a needle support; needlestherein a latch ring; a pivotal support for said latch ring; a finger orfeeding yarn to the needles; a

; jack slidable on said latch ring. for moving said yarn finger; meansfor sliding said jack in one direction to move said finger into oneposition; a lever movable into contact avith the jack to slide it inanother direction to move said finger into a second position;

and means for holding said lever in engagement with the jack to holdsaid linger in an inoperative position the finger. the jack and thelever all being movable in the same plane.

6. The combination in a knitting machine 5 of a needle support; needlestherein; a latch ring; a jack supported by said latch ring;

a finger actuated by said jack for feeding yarn to the needles ;'meansfor moving said jack in one direct-ion to move said finger into oneposition; a lever for moving the jack in another direction for movingsaid finger into a second position; means for holding said lever inengagement with the jack to keep said yin-n finger in said latterposition; means for releasing said lever; and T5 at second means formoving the lever into engagement with the jack after said leuer has beenreleased by the holding means. i

7. The combination in a knitting machine of a needle support; needlestherein; a latch :30 ring; a. jack slidably supported by said latchring; a finger for feeding yarn to the needles and movable by said jackinto and out or operative position; a lever having one of its facesmovable into engagement with the jack for moving it in a direction tothrow said yarn finger out of operative position; and a spring formoving said jack in the opposite direction to throw said yarn fingerinto operative position, the jack the finger and the lever being allmovable in the same plane.

a 8. The combination in a knitting machine of a cylinder-having needles:a cam ring;

a member for delivering yarn to the needles; means for automaticallymoving said ring with said member to vary the lengths of the stitches;and means for maintaining constant the angle at which the yarn passes tothe needles irrespective of the position of the cam rim 9. Thecombination in a knitting machine of a needle support; a cam ring; meansfor automatically moving said cam ring up and down during operation ofthe machine; and a yarn guide connected to the cam ring so as to bemoved up anddown therewith.

10. The combination in a knitting machine of a needle support; a camring; a yarn guide; and means for simultaneously and automaticallymoving the cam ring and yarn guide relatively to the needle support atpredetermined times during operation of the machine.

11. The combination in a knitting machine of a needle-support; a camring; a movable structure supporting said cam ring; a member including alatch ring mounted on said structure; a yarn directing element carriedby said member; and auto- 20 matic means for actuating the supportingstructure to move the cam ring and the yarn directing elementsimultaneously up or down.

12. The combination in a knitting ma- 2 chine of a needle support; a camring therefor; a structure supporting the cam ring; means forautomatically actuating said structure to move the cam ring relativelyto the needle support; a latch ring carried by 1 the supportingstructure; and yarn directing means mounted on the latch ring.

13. The combination in a knitting machine of a needle support; avertically movable structure adjacent thereto; a cam ring for the needlesupport carried by said structure; a latch ring also carried by thestructure: a plurality of yarn guides mounted on the latch ring; andautomatic means for periodically imparting vertical movement to thestructure carrying the cam and latch rings.

14. The combination in a knittin machine of a needle support; a latchring; a

structure pivotally supporting said ring;

a yarn guide; a jack for actuating said yarn guide and mounted on saidlatch ring; with a member for operating the jack detachably engaging thesame below the pivot of the latch ring.

15. The combination in a knittin machine of a needle support; a latchring; a structure pivotally supporting said ring; a yarn guide; a jackfor actuating said yarn 16. The combination in a knit-tin machine of aneedle support; a latch ring; structure pivotally supporting said ring;a yarn guide; a jack for actuating said yarn guide and mounted on saidlatch ring; said jack having a projection below the pivot of the latchring; with an operating lever haw ing a surface substantiallyperpendicular to the line of movement of the jack, placed to detachablyengage the jack projection.

17. In a knitting machine, the combination of a series of needles; meansfor actuating said needles; means for shifting said actuating means forfashioning purposes; a pluralit of yarn. feeds; and means for sbiftinsaid feeds in correspondence with the shifting of the needle actuatingmeans, whereby a constant feeding relation is at all times maintainedbetween the feeds and the needles.

ELMER U. AMES.

